Cosmax opens factory in Thailand to tap market in Asean

Cosmax’s manufacturing facilities in Thailand recently started up, the company said Monday, with the goal of tapping into Asean’s largest beauty market.

An original design manufacturer for big-name beauty brands worldwide, the company announced that the 9,000-square-meter (836-square-foot) facility in Bangplee, Thailand, started running on Wednesday.

With 150 employees, the facility has the capacity to produce 30 million units of skin care and cosmetics products per year.

Cosmax set up an office in Thailand last year to tap into the beauty market of it and other neighboring countries in the Asean region.

“Thailand has the biggest beauty market among Asean countries-it’s also an influential market that leads trends in the region,” said a Cosmax spokeswoman.

Thailand is a rising target for global beauty brands. Johnson & Johnson, P&G and Unilever manufacture there. The research firm Euromonitor estimated the country’s beauty market at 5.6 billion won ($5.01 million) in 2016 and a Kotra report predicted it to reach 7.2 billion won in size by 2021.

“Thailand has big market potential: It’s at the center of the hallyu wave and has a high level of interest in Korean cosmetics,” said Lee Geon-il, head of Cosmax’s Thailand corporation.

“There’s also a wide perception that Korean beauty brands have good quality.”

The spokeswoman added the company hopes to sign more deals with beauty companies in Thailand and other nearby countries.

The Thai factory completes a two-track plan that Cosmax has for tackling the Asean beauty market. It already has one factory in Indonesia that manufactures halal-certified products.

Combined, the two facilities will be able to make products for both Muslim and Buddhist populations in the Asean region.

Cosmax now has six overseas factories in total, including the United States and China.

BY SONG KYOUNG-SON [song.kyoungson@joongang.co.kr]